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shard-lore · 5 years

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The Shardak Maze

The Shardak maze is a treacherous expanse on the eastern outskirts of Shard that stretches for many miles, a landscape of weathered rock twisted into jagged and serrated formations. The razor-sharp edges can slice through flesh with ease, and anyone walking here is at risk of nasty injuries. This labyrinth of featureless razor rocks taller than head height is virtually impossible to navigate as there is no way to get one’s bearings. Nor is there any water to be found here, which seeps into the porous rock as soon as it falls. Almost nothing is able to grow here and it is virtually devoid of life.

Understandably, the Shard have always viewed it as a cursed place and avoided venturing here. The Shard believe these rocks are the remnants of the people of the First Age. Animated from the dust by the Locus countless millennia ago, they proved an irreligious sort and failed to perform the requisite sacrifices to their creators. Displeased, the vengeful Locus decided to wipe the slate clean, turning them to pillars of inanimate stone. The wind whipping through these irregular formations sometimes carries loud noises sounding eerily like mournful cries, the lament of these eternally cursed beings.

This place of abjection has a significant role in the social cleansing of the Shard state, for it is here that those offending against the despotic laws of the Locuseer are exiled with nothing more than the clothes on their back- equivalent to a death sentence. The steady stream of convicts banished here increases to a veritable torrent whenever the Locuseer orders another purge.

The entrance path bordering the city is guarded by a great black gate, constantly patrolled by soldiers who will allow nothing in or out of the maze unless ordered. While there certainly must be other smaller passages in the rock leading out of the maze, there is no concern with mapping and guarding them. To enter the maze means certain death and it would be a miraculous feat if anyone could survive long enough to find an escape route.

A small section of the treacherous Shardak maze

The Zek’aa

These wolf-sized carnivorous lizards were once a common sight around the outskirts of Shard, but the local extinction of their prey animals along with heavy persecution by the Shard has wiped them out from much of their former range and they can now only be encountered in the wild regions far from settlements.

In Shard culture they are regarded as driven by pure malice, and these beings often take the role of fearsome antagonists in their folk tales. However these tales have little basis in fact, for the Zek’aa have never posed much danger to the Shard in reality. As cold-blooded creatures they could not wander into settlements under cover of darkness, and any roving in daylight would risk being spotted and killed by mobs of citizens who could easily overpower them with superior numbers. The Shard Houses offered bounties for any Zek’aa killed that soon reduced their numbers severely.

Two Zeka’a at a waterhole, in the wild lands far from Shard

However, a relict population of Zek’aa does cling on close to the city, inside the otherwise lifeless Shardak maze. Their scaly hides are tough enough to resist minor scrapes, but it is mostly through their intellect, vastly underestimated by the Shard, that they are capable of survival here. They are able to memorize the layout of the maze in the territory they inhabit, knowing all the twisting paths and hidden passages, as well as the underground pools which are the only source of precious water here. With nothing else left to eat, they have become man-eaters, surviving here by consuming the unfortunate souls exiled to the labyrinth.

Anyone entering the maze, no matter how carefully they try to pick their way through it, will soon find themselves brushing against or stepping upon a sharp outcrop, slicing their flesh open and leaving a trail of blood upon the baking rock. Tasting blood in the air, all the Zek’aa in the vicinity will begin tracking their victim, who will soon spot one of the giant lizards appearing out of the rock down the path. Once the first has found their quarry, more of them are quick to appear. The victim will find the Zek’aa follow behind them with relentless and tireless persistence, but always keeping their distance.

Though a group of Zek’aa could overpower a lone humanoid, and likely outrun one over short distances, they will not attack or chase down their victim. They survive here by conserving their energy as much as possible, and they will not exert themselves in the hunt or risk injury. If the victim panics and tries to run, they are likely to cut their feet to ribbons on the rock or slip and fall. In any case, the more effort they expend in trying to evade the lizards, the sooner they will tire.

As hours pass the victim, wandering hopelessly lost in the maze, will be gradually weakened by blood-loss, fatigue, dehydration and exposure to the scorching sun. The lizards will begin to draw ever closer, and even more may appear, perhaps 6 or or more now stalking their quarry. Even now they will not attack. The exhausted victim may stop momentarily, and the lizards stop too, watching and waiting with inhuman patience. Eventually, when the weakened victim collapses, they close in and rip them to pieces as they relish their long awaited meal. It may be months since they last fed, or will feed again.

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